


You'll Never Walk Alone Again

by talkcummingtome (TalkCummingToMe)



Series: Abandonment/Age Regression Verse [3]
Category: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy RPF
Genre: Abandonment, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, clingy!Antoni, protective!Tan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 06:28:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15504318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalkCummingToMe/pseuds/talkcummingtome
Summary: For as long as he can remember, Antoni has used age regression to cope with the harsh realities of the outside world, something that leads to loneliness....until he meets four men -- one with whom he shares an unbreakable bond -- and learns to accept himself.





	You'll Never Walk Alone Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mistilteinn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistilteinn/gifts).



> Oh my god I didn't mean for this to be so angsty whoops. Might want to read it with tissues handy.

Antoni isn't sure why he always feels so much younger than everybody else. Yes, he looks thirtyish on the outside, but inside he feels more like a very young child. When he tries to explain this to people, they laugh and shrug it off with promises that he'll grow out of it eventually. Antoni knows he can't; knows it deep in his heart and stops telling people. They're all just fillers in his life, anyway.

 

 

Then he meets Tan, Bobby, Jonathan, and Karamo. They all accept him for who he is and treat him like family, but Tan is special. They've been joined at the hip from the moment they met and Antoni loves it. He thrives on Tan's attention, seeking him out for every little thing, a fact which the others like to tease him about. He knows they're kidding but he also can't deny that it hurts his feelings. Tan has a talk with them one day while Antoni is in the bathroom and it stops afterward. The others apologize and hug him, and while he forgives them eventually, Tan just knows it hurt much deeper than he's letting on.

 

 

Antoni trusts Tan implicitly. He tells Tan everything about his life, from the struggles of growing up without much affection to the troubles of coming out and everything in between. And yet, he just can't bring himself to reveal his deepest secret. Their relationship is so important to him that he can't bring himself to damage its still fragile pieces.

 

 

...until that fateful day. He wakes up, nuzzling closer to....wait, what's this? Tan's side of the bed is suspiciously empty, sheets rumpled and cool to the touch from lack of body heat. Antoni switches on the light after a minute just to make sure he's not dreaming, and sure enough, Tan's half of the bed is empty. It's not long before he's on the verge of tears, burying his face into his pillow in hopes of muffling the sounds as they fall. He can't seem to stop crying.

 

 

A pair of warm, slightly damp arms curls around his shaking form and he almost screams as Tan gathers him close. The words are out of Antoni's mouth before he can stop them.

 

 

"Daddy..."

 

 

He pushes Tan away, more terrified of rejection and judgement than anything else, and bolts from the room. He doesn't care where he's going, he just knows he needs to get away. He can hear the other calling to him but he clamps his mouth shut; losing Tan is more than he can bear.

 

 

He runs smack into Jonathan just outside the shared bathroom. He takes one look at Antoni's bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks and knows something is wrong. He looks around helplessly; Tan is really the only one who can reach him when he's like this. The man in question appears a few minutes later, looks at Antoni, and gathers him into his arms again. This time, Antoni doesn't resist. He slumps against him, spent from crying, and clings to the older man as though his very life depends on it. Tan, very wisely, says nothing. He knows Antoni will talk when he's ready but he also can't help being curious.

 

 

"I'm sorry I ran out on you," Antoni finally says, breath hitching from the last of his tears. "I couldn't bear another rejection, or worse, being judged. You mean too much to me and I...I'd be lost without you."

 

 

Tan is floored as he continues to snuggle his Antoni. "I'm still here, aren't I?"

 

 

Antoni nods with a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess you are. It's just...I feel so much younger than I look and nobody has ever understood it or even tried to. They all thought I was some kind of freak or that I'm mentally ill...and..."

 

 

His words are cut off by a fresh wave of tears and Tan can almost hear his heart breaking. He has some idea of how much Antoni needs (and loves) him, but this is something else entirely. He sighs, stroking Antoni's hair as the man cries himself to sleep in his arms. Antoni wakes later, groggy and disoriented from his unplanned nap, almost screaming in relief as he realizes Tan is still there.

 

 

"Hi, baby," Tan murmurs. "You want to talk?"

 

 

Antoni nods, yawning. "Sometimes I can't handle the adult world so well, so age regression helps me to cope. There are some people who are into the sexual aspects of it, but I'm not one of them."

 

 

Tan hums, taking this in. "And you thought I'd be like the ones who judged you if you told me. Oh, my baby...my baby..."

 

Antoni can't help the soft gasp of surprise in his voice as he snuggles against Tan. He doesn't say anything else; there isn't a need to cause he has finally found somewhere to belong.


End file.
